AI Video Generation API Pricing Comparison (2026) — 8 Models Priced per Clip

The same 8-second 720p clip costs from $0.18 to $3.03 depending on the model, a difference of about 16.8 times. These are the 8 video models under one API key. But before that figure, one detail changes the answer: these models do not charge the same way—3 charge a fixed price per video, while 5 charge per generated second. So “the cheapest API” depends on the clip length your product generates, and a ranking with one number per model only applies to the unstated duration it chose.

First, a note on perspective: Kunavo is a product, a gateway that resells access to models, not an independent comparison site. The figures below are taken from the catalog that charges for requests, when the page is generated. Kunavo prices checked on October 1, 2026.

The price of a 8 s 720p clip, model by model

The common benchmark is 8 seconds at 720p: this is the unit billed by models priced per video, and all per-second models generate it. The “official price” column shows what the provider itself publishes for the same clip.

A dash in the official price column means we could not verify a price published by the provider — and we claim no discount for these models. For the 4 models with a published official price, Kunavo is cheaper.

Two billing units, and why comparisons break

Google Veo 3.1 charges per video, and every Veo video is 8 seconds long, whatever duration is asked for. ByteDance Seedance and Alibaba Wan 2.7 charge per second of output. In practice: at 8 seconds, Veo 3.1 Lite leads at $0.18; ask for 4 seconds and all per-second models cost half as much, while a Veo model still generates and charges for a whole clip. A per-second model that seemed expensive at 8 seconds can therefore become the cheaper of the two at 4. Beyond 8 seconds, a Veo model needs one more whole clip while a per-second model charges only for the extra seconds: the per-second models gain ground again. At 16 seconds, each model costs double and the order is the same again. Set the duration before comparing prices. The AI video cost calculator does the math for your volume.

Which one to choose for each use case

• Drafts, previews, volume — Veo 3.1 Lite, $0.18 per 8 s clip. At this price, discarding a clip costs less than asking someone whether to generate it.
• The shot delivered to the client — Veo 3.1 Quality ($1.60 per video), the most expensive fixed-price model, worth it when the result is delivered as is.
• Short clips, 6 seconds or less — the per-second models: you pay for what you generate. The lowest per-second price is Seedance 2.0 Mini, at $0.0526 per second.
• Animate an existing visual — Veo 3.1 Lite, Veo 3.1 Fast, Seedance 2.0 Mini, Veo 3.1 Quality, Seedance 2.5: first and last frames, reference image.

What Kunavo does not have

Other pages in these results list models that are not available on Kunavo: as of September 2026, Sora, Kling, Hailuo, Runway, Luma, Pika. If one of them is central to your project, this key cannot call it, and another provider is the right choice.

How to call it

The 8 models share a single endpoint; only the model ID changes. Generation is asynchronous: the first request returns a task ID, and the completed video is retrieved with a follow-up request, since rendering takes tens of seconds. The format is in the video documentation; details on Veo are in Veo 3 pricing. The image side of the same key: image generation API.

Frequently asked questions